At the Beach, 1978: Lithograph print by Roy Lichtenstein

  • BACK TO: SURREALIST SERIES At the Beach, 1978, by Roy Lichtenstein presents a stylised seaside scene featuring two figures, including...
    At the Beach, 1978
    Lithograph on Arches 88 paper, sheet: 66 x 106.7 cm
    Edition of 38; plus 7 AP, 1 RTP, 1 PPII, 1 SP, 1 WP, 3 GEL, 1 C, 1 Change, Inc
    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein 
    BACK TO: SURREALIST SERIES

     

    At the Beach, 1978, by Roy Lichtenstein presents a stylised seaside scene featuring two figures, including a reclining blonde nude whose form stretches across the composition. The setting is subtly defined through visual cues such as a starfish, a spade, and a flag, anchoring the otherwise abstract image within a coastal context. Built from bold black outlines, diagonal hatching, and flat blocks of colour, the composition combines yellow, blue, and grey tones with patterned surfaces. The figures appear both integrated and fragmented within the landscape, while geometric elements disrupt traditional perspective, creating a layered and carefully constructed visual field.
     
    Produced as a lithograph on Arches 88 paper in collaboration with Gemini G.E.L., the work forms part of Lichtenstein’s Surrealist series. Here, he reinterprets beach and reclining nude imagery through a controlled, graphic language, replacing spontaneity with precision. Drawing on Surrealism and earlier modernist references, Lichtenstein transforms the scene into a system of visual signs, where composition, pattern, and repetition take precedence over narrative.

  • "My work isn't about form. It's about seeing." 

     

    - Roy Lichtenstein 

    Lichtenstein built much of his work around referencing and reinterpreting earlier artists and movements, from Impressionism and Cubism to Surrealism and comic strips. Rather than copying, he translated these sources into a precise, graphic language using bold outlines, flat colour, and mechanical techniques like Ben-Day dots. By doing so, he stripped away their original context and rebuilt them as controlled visual systems, questioning ideas of originality, authorship, and the divide between high art and mass culture.